For that reason, and in order to offer NomenClature that speaks not to archaic, obsolete "Positions", but rather to Skill Sets that accurately reflect the dynamic Changes of the 21st Century Game and the Roles they have spawned, I have undertaken to craft Terminology that is designed to break Skill Sets down as they really are.

Defensive Coordinators have, since Time Immemorial, employed highly creative terminology in devising Defenses and in designating Assignments. In that Spirit, I have admittedly indulged myself considerably in devising the following NomenClature. It is undeniably colorful, but I like to think that there's an underlying Logic, as well:

Bandits ~ This is my term, derived from Defensive Schemes, for Players with the WingSpan for the Defensive Line yet who, unlike Dragons, lack the Size to play there regularly, because they can't be expected to Anchor against the Run.

They are thus the right Size though a bit tall to play MidFielder and can generally do so, but I believe are optimally employed as Wild Cards, deployed all over the Formation from Snap to Snap, usually in the murky, shifty region between the Defensive Line and the MidFielders, usually standing up, and generally giving no clue as to their Intentions.

I believe that the Bandit, whatever he's called in a given Formation, stands at the very EpiCenter of the disruptive Changes that Defensive Formations are undergoing today. Their unique combination of Size & Speed offers precisely that Wild Card Variable that I believe is potentially priceless for Defenses to compete and indeed to excel in the incessantly and rapidly evolving Strategic LandScape of the 21st Century. The Prototype would be around 6050/245 or so, I'd say.

As the ultimate Defensive Hybrid, Bandits could quite conceivably Rush the Passer, Blitz the Run, or Drop into Coverage on any given play, and from virtually any alignment on the Line or in the BackField. They won't anchor against the Run very effectively, they won't overwhelm with Power in their Pass Rush, and they're not built to Turn & Burn with WideOuts in Coverage, but they are in fact optimally built to conceivably compete effectively in all three Facets of the Game.Of course, where and how any given Coach chooses to deploy his Players is his Business. Players that I characterize as Bandits may often or even routinely line up anywhere, on any given Down. My only purpose is simply to identify what I perceive as Skill Sets, to distinguish types, if you will, and perhaps create a universal Point of Reference.

When evaluatingBandits, this is how I break down the Attributes to which I pay most particular attention:

Power: Above all: Core Power. Torso Power is important, but Core Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial. All the upper body strength in the world still fails if you can't dig in your heels. But Core Power enables a Defensive Lineman to project Power in the Passing Game and to reject Power in the Running Game.

Agility: Launch Velocity, Acceleration, and above all: Fluidity or Core Agility. Core Agility is even more essential to sustained good Health ~ and to sustained good FootBall ~ than Core Power. The ability to react with Serpentine smoothness is a tremendous asset in all Aspects of the Game, and certainly in the Hand to Hand Combat that characterizes Trench Warfare. All the Power in the World goes only so far if you're stiff and lumbering out there.

Intangibles:Processing Speed and Motor. Processing Speed or Diagnostic Velocity is about how quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to how the Rapidly Roiling Tactical LandScape effects Blocking Schemes, and Motor is about Endurance and Drive: How much Work has been put into Conditioning, and how it manifests itself.Run Defense: Power, Agility, Combat Skills, Navigating Traffic, Processing Speed, Motor, and Tackling.

Power: Mediocre. Most would grade'm as Deficient, I'm sure, but would do so based on Defensive End standards, where he'd be matched up regularly with 300/330 Pound Offensive Tackles. I grade'm as a Bandit, who should be playing standing up most of the time, and often doing Combat with HalfBack and Tight Ends, as well as Linemen.

Intangibles:Phenomenal. Magnificent Diagnostic Velocity and Field Vision and a relentless, roaring Motor.Run Defense:Amazing. Only adequate Power at the Point of Attack, but incredible Processing Speed in reading & reacting to the Tactical LandScape, sensational Combat Skills in ripping through Traffic, and phenomenal Acceleration. His greatest Attribute, though, is his Motor. He is absolutely frantic out there, and for 60 full minutes.

Pass Coverage: Unknown. My Projection is that he'll become Competitive in this Aspect of the Game, but not exceptional. His Fluidity is sufficient, but not remarkable, and I wouldn't ask'm to deploy in Man Coverage too often. But he's Fluid enough to drop into Zone Coverage, and his incredible Processing Speed is an enormous Advantage.

Pass Rush:Sensational. He's got mediocre Power, and won't be BullRushing much of anyone, but the combination of his absolutely magnificent Launch Velocity, sufficient Fluidity, and phenomenal Acceleration, combined with that phenomenal Paw Velocity and astonishing Repertoire of Moves are what NightMares are made of. Greatness Beckons.

Shane Ray Prospectus

It's amusing to continue to read about how a guy like Shane Ray has an uncertain Future because his Position at the next level is so uncertain. It's as if the Tactical LandScape has changed considerably over the last Decade.Throughout the FootBall World, Defenses are in the process of undergoing spectacular Disruption and Revolution. Old Roles are getting dramatically transformed, and virtually every Front 7 ~ or Front 6!! ~ Defensive Job Description is transitioning into an Hybrid Role where the Defender is asked to excel in multiple Roles and multiple Fronts.

And Bandits are at the heart of these Revolutionary Changes.

The more that Shane Ray plays standing up, the better, but that does not mean that I believe he should be deployed like a MidFielder ~ "LineBacker", to you Earthlings. I believe that Shane Ray will do very well in many of the Aspect of playing MidFielder, but that would be incredibly foolish, because Rushing The Passer in only a fractional portion of what MidFielders do, and Rushing The Passer is of course what Shane Ray does best of all.

No, I believe that deploying'm all over the Front 6 or 7, varying his Alignment from Snap to Snap, and as often as not having him hover ominously in the shadowy Zone between Linemen and MidFielders is exactly what you do with Shane Ray.

The Game is changing, and Wild Cards like Shane Ray are exactly what 21st Century Defenses need.

Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!

﻿Yank Rank: SuperBeast ~ Blue Chip Beast

Bargain!!

﻿Market Value

Top 10﻿

﻿Yankee Grade

Top 5﻿

Please do Note: This and all Evaluations issued by this Site are produced by a ludicrously unqualified Amateur, privy to not even the tiniest fraction of Coach's Tape, Scouting Expertise, Face to Face Interviewing, Experience, or Inside Information enjoyed by the Professionals. As such, anything put forth is certainly misinformed, euphonious, derivative Tripe, and should be rejected out'f hand and indeed shunned by all men and women of Good Will!! I'm trying to discern Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and far more abstract, esoteric Concepts such as Processing Speed and Motor, and I'm trying to do so based almost entirely on a fascinating fusion of Tape, Combine Numbers, and Pro Days, while trying to attenuate my findings based on Allowances for Competition Level, Scheme, Concept, Context, and, above all: Trajectory!!

None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!!